The Influence of Learning Management System Components on Learners’ Motivation in a Large-Scale Social Learning Environment

Steiner M, Götz O, Stieglitz S


Abstract
Blended learning is becoming increasingly important in information systems research and education. One major drawback is to foster student’s motivation to actively participate in blended learning environments. There is still little understanding about the perceived value of incentives and components of learning management systems. Therefore, we investigated the perceived value of incentives. Furthermore, we analyze incentives’ and LMS components’ influence on learner motivation during a large-scale lecture. Based on the theoretical background of the ARCS model, we found that the perceived value of self-tests and forums have a substantial influence on learners’ motivation. In particular, the findings suggest that a clear communication of the components’ benefits is likely to positively influence learners’ attention, confidence, and perceived relevance. We also show that lecturers can influence perceptions of components by means of incentives. These results are valuable to develop LMS environments.

Keywords
Incentives; higher education; blended learning; satisfaction; learning management system



Publication type
Research article in proceedings (conference)

Peer reviewed
Yes

Publication status
Published

Year
2013

Conference
34th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS)

Venue
Milan, Italy

Language
English